Context?
My iGoogle home page shows me a "Quote of the Day" each morning. I have no idea how the quote generator selects my quotes for display. I glance at them, then forget them. Yesterday a quote by Fran Liebowitz caught my eye:
A train leaves Chicago going east at 45 mph. Another train heads west from New York...
K-
In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.I would love to know who her audience was when she said this. I hope it wasn't high school students. (As an engineer, I can assure everybody that we use algebra, calculus, and trigonometry every day.) What could have been the context for such an outlandish statement? I tried to find out the source of the quote but was unsuccessful. I can't believe the woman is naive enough to actually believe it. Wikipedia tells me she was expelled from school and has a GED. That could explain things, because without any context, the statement makes her seem, well, stupid. So for Fran, all I can say is:
A train leaves Chicago going east at 45 mph. Another train heads west from New York...
K-
Liebowitz is the stereotype us outsiders have of New Yorkers.
The full context is this: It's in an ironic collection of advice for kids called "Tips for Teens." The full quote is: "Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious during algebra. In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra."
Other advice includes urging teens to take up smoking, "a habit with staying power."
Ah, sort of an Ambrose-Bierce-Devil's-Dictionary kind of thing. Now it makes more sense. Hard to appreciate the quote without the sardonic context.
K-